Did you happen to read Christy Isinger’s hilarious take on The Father? I haven’t read The Father, but I have mixed feeling about O’Brien and her take was very funny (with plenty of expletives thrown in for good measure).
I just read it and she is SO RIGHT. It makes me feel so much better too-I’ve been wondering if there is something I’m missing/I went into it being too willing to see the bad
I haven’t. I have a couple on my to read shelf but I’ve been avoiding him a bit because his takes on fantasy/fiction in general have soured me on him as a writer, but I know people who love Father Elijah and Strangers and Sojourners
Yes I found his Madeleine L'Engle, C.S. Lewis, and Harry Potter takes in A Landscape with Dragons to be a misunderstanding of the genres (and honestly annoying). I did like Strangers and Soujourners. But the sequels seemed way too obnoxiously overwritten and too on the nose (making something like watching TV akin to sinfulness). So I am curious about Island of the World and Father Elijah.
LOL Least favorite romantic tropes is most excellent. I loathe the crisis caused by secrets. Infuriates me every time.
I might have to read The Man Born to Be King during Lent. You and Kelsey are giving it great endorsements!
I gave The Father's Tale fifty pages before giving up. I know I'm a picky reader, but I thought it was unforgivably bad. I couldn't not read the Italian character (was it Maria?) in a voice that was like "it's a me, Mario!" And those blurbs on the back. What the what?? But...I heartily enjoyed Christie's take-down. So something good out of it. Haha!
Figured it was a fun one to think of. Any romance tropes relying on adults acting like teenagers drives me crazy-it’s why so many modern television shows don’t work for me because the crises are so manufactured and based off, as I said adults acting like teens. And please do!! I’d love to read your reflections on it. And that was the exact moment I also started being concerned about the book. I’m skim reading it right now because I was dumb enough to buy the book. Next time going to use the library for new reads that aren’t classics/recommended by people I trust. And the blurbs! I don’t know what they read but it can’t have been the same book
Thank you so much for the mention, Elise! I truly appreciate it♥️
I also think it is totally fair and reasonable to be nostalgic for the illness of our youth! Having had quite a rough first trimester with this pregnancy, those are thoughts I had many a time recently. It is quite different to be vomiting into the toilet while a small child asks you over and over if you are OK, and then promptly request breakfast than it is to get to lay on the couch and wallow with pity for ourselves and watch Judge Judy (we didn’t have cable when I was in high school😂).
I also really related to your comment about your virtue being dependent on basic sleep and physical well being because it’s one of the things I think about most. It’s a difficult thing because on one side of things, it is an “of course!” sort of fact of life. Not getting enough sleep means not being our best. At the same time though, there is a desire to be able to rise above these things via self awareness and faith, which is always a struggle and a blessing.
Thank you for your writing! And I’ve had rough “morning” sickness all of my pregnancies. It is so debilitating. And classic small child. Empathetic one moment, and needy the next. It is a different experience for sure. It is such a tough balance to find. You read about saints who endured serious physical discomfort and deprivation (and plenty who did so by choice with fasting/other practices) and remained loving/charitable, and then look at yourself losing an hour or two of sleep, or pulling a muscle, and see how crabby you are, and can’t help compare. I keep coming back to needing more prayer time-the spiritual can’t master the physical if I’m not attending to the spiritual. In the meantime, I need to exercise prudence in the physical as a Mom whose bad moods can have outsize consequences on my children.
I’ll have to check out the Isinger. I’m halfway through the book. My first thought was the subtitle of this book should be “A Three-Inch Soapbox”. Our group has already met, but I feel like a should finish it, especially since it’s not particularly dense. I am enjoying the Russian aspect of it. A friend that did finish said the last quarter is fast-paced.
Did you happen to read Christy Isinger’s hilarious take on The Father? I haven’t read The Father, but I have mixed feeling about O’Brien and her take was very funny (with plenty of expletives thrown in for good measure).
I just read it and she is SO RIGHT. It makes me feel so much better too-I’ve been wondering if there is something I’m missing/I went into it being too willing to see the bad
I think Christy is always hilarious (and relatable) so I thoroughly enjoyed that. Have you read any other O'Brien?
I haven’t. I have a couple on my to read shelf but I’ve been avoiding him a bit because his takes on fantasy/fiction in general have soured me on him as a writer, but I know people who love Father Elijah and Strangers and Sojourners
Yes I found his Madeleine L'Engle, C.S. Lewis, and Harry Potter takes in A Landscape with Dragons to be a misunderstanding of the genres (and honestly annoying). I did like Strangers and Soujourners. But the sequels seemed way too obnoxiously overwritten and too on the nose (making something like watching TV akin to sinfulness). So I am curious about Island of the World and Father Elijah.
LOL Least favorite romantic tropes is most excellent. I loathe the crisis caused by secrets. Infuriates me every time.
I might have to read The Man Born to Be King during Lent. You and Kelsey are giving it great endorsements!
I gave The Father's Tale fifty pages before giving up. I know I'm a picky reader, but I thought it was unforgivably bad. I couldn't not read the Italian character (was it Maria?) in a voice that was like "it's a me, Mario!" And those blurbs on the back. What the what?? But...I heartily enjoyed Christie's take-down. So something good out of it. Haha!
Figured it was a fun one to think of. Any romance tropes relying on adults acting like teenagers drives me crazy-it’s why so many modern television shows don’t work for me because the crises are so manufactured and based off, as I said adults acting like teens. And please do!! I’d love to read your reflections on it. And that was the exact moment I also started being concerned about the book. I’m skim reading it right now because I was dumb enough to buy the book. Next time going to use the library for new reads that aren’t classics/recommended by people I trust. And the blurbs! I don’t know what they read but it can’t have been the same book
Such an expensive book too! At least it can double as a doorstop haha
Yes!!
Thank you so much for the mention, Elise! I truly appreciate it♥️
I also think it is totally fair and reasonable to be nostalgic for the illness of our youth! Having had quite a rough first trimester with this pregnancy, those are thoughts I had many a time recently. It is quite different to be vomiting into the toilet while a small child asks you over and over if you are OK, and then promptly request breakfast than it is to get to lay on the couch and wallow with pity for ourselves and watch Judge Judy (we didn’t have cable when I was in high school😂).
I also really related to your comment about your virtue being dependent on basic sleep and physical well being because it’s one of the things I think about most. It’s a difficult thing because on one side of things, it is an “of course!” sort of fact of life. Not getting enough sleep means not being our best. At the same time though, there is a desire to be able to rise above these things via self awareness and faith, which is always a struggle and a blessing.
Thank you for your writing! And I’ve had rough “morning” sickness all of my pregnancies. It is so debilitating. And classic small child. Empathetic one moment, and needy the next. It is a different experience for sure. It is such a tough balance to find. You read about saints who endured serious physical discomfort and deprivation (and plenty who did so by choice with fasting/other practices) and remained loving/charitable, and then look at yourself losing an hour or two of sleep, or pulling a muscle, and see how crabby you are, and can’t help compare. I keep coming back to needing more prayer time-the spiritual can’t master the physical if I’m not attending to the spiritual. In the meantime, I need to exercise prudence in the physical as a Mom whose bad moods can have outsize consequences on my children.
I’ll have to check out the Isinger. I’m halfway through the book. My first thought was the subtitle of this book should be “A Three-Inch Soapbox”. Our group has already met, but I feel like a should finish it, especially since it’s not particularly dense. I am enjoying the Russian aspect of it. A friend that did finish said the last quarter is fast-paced.